Just wanted to give a little feedback and this is just my opinion of the products. I hope that this will help people when they are looking at a Bluetooth headset for the helmet. Because they cost so much there are very few people I think that have had both and can compare them. Maybe that is why I was not able to find much like that. Most reviews I found were one review and what they thought. Not One vs the other.

First I have used the Cardo system for a long time. I started with the G4 and well right out of the box it had it’s issues. That said I moved on to the new Generation of the G9 and it seemed all the issues were worked out. The system fit great on the helmet and was very low profile and I liked that. As for the features of the device if you look at what it offers on the web site, it delivers. The one issue I had with the device at first was the low volume when wearing earplugs. I use earplugs when I ride and have for years. Well on the G4 I just replaced the headphones and it resolved the issues. With the new G9 Helmet mount I didn’t have to do that at all. The volume levels even when wearing earplugs were fine. It works great with the phone and SIRI recognizes everything I say. The Quality of the phone calls, from what people say is fine. They don’t hear to much background noise. All in all I have very few bad things to say about the Cardo. Well maybe not. I don’t like the fact I can’t pair it with other devices. So that said Sena claimed you can with them. So I bought one.

Sena S20

Right out of the box I put it on my helmet and I could not hear anything. I called the support and they said they would have a fix out for that soon. They also said I should not be wearing earplugs. I waited for the update and yes it came out. However it didn’t fix the volume issues. So I moved over to using ear buds with it. Well that was just the first issue. When I would try to send a command to Siri she could never understand what I was saying. Out of the blue it would go into command mode. Well okay. I wanted to test pairing with a G9 and see how that went. Well you have to use the command menu with that and well I tried and tried and I could not get it to work. It is great if you have a lot of features. I will not lie. I was excited to see all this device had to offer. But at the end of the day. It didn’t deliver one of them that worked right. If you are just getting it to go with the GoPro Backpack that I am sure it would work great. Some people have even said they really like the device. Well after using both I am sorry but Cardo wins hands down.

There were a few things I was looking for when I was looking at replacing my gloves. I had been using the same gloves for a long time and the reason is because I could not find anything that I liked as much as them. They fit perfect and I felt like I was not wearing any. However they protected my hands very well. I was sad when they finally fell apart but sometimes you have to let go and move on to better things. Then came the quest to find a perfect replacement glove. I am not to picky but felt because I had a hard time replacing them before I would still have a hard time.

1) I wanted ventilation (Not big vents on them but little holes like my old gloves)

2) They had to fit right. I like them to be tight but not so tight they hurt my hands after time.

3) They had to have proper protection.

I did a lot of reading and bought 2 pairs of gloves. The first pair was the Spidi Race-Vent and the second was the ALPINESTARS SP-2. The first set I tried was the Spidi gloves because I have had such great luck with the gear they make so far.

The breakin of them was very easy and they seemed to fit to my hands very fast. I really liked the design of the glove and they seemed to really have great protection. Now was the test to see if they could allow the vent to allow air flow. I wore them on a very hot day (I think it was about 95 that day). After a few hours or riding I really felt the same as I did with my old gloves. The ventilation was even better and I had no issues with my hands getting sweaty. I didn’t feel they were bulky at all and really fell in love with them right away. I have continued to wear them a few times and the only bad thing I have to say about them is the Velcro strap around the wrist seems small and might be in issue in the future. For the most part I love these gloves and can’t see me replacing them anytime soon. I would give them 5 Stars.

On Saturday September 15th I picked up a Triumph Tiger Explorer from Triumph Newport Beach located on Newport blvd in Costa Mesa, Ca. I have been riding Triumph’s for quite a few years now starting with the Daytona T595. Before that I had ridden Hondas and other types of bikes. But the thing that kept me with the Triumph is the love for how the bikes handle. I love the motor because for me I feel I have the power there whenever I need it. Well this would be the first bike I have owned/ridden with a shaft drive.

When I bought the bike I requested to have the Arrow exhaust, heated grips, Fog lights, and Engine cage installed. I also picked up a few other items the day I picked it up like the headlight guard and the Belly Pan. Most of these items were installed and so now I have my first impression of this bike and I have to say I love it.

As I set out on the very first ride on my new bike I was not used to the shaft drive. At this time I am still doing the break in miles of the bike so it is hard to really feel it. Every bike I have owned to this point has had a chain and this is just what I am very used to. But so far with this shaft drive I am not disappointed at all. I have a little over 100 miles on the bike as I write this so I am just at the point where I can kick up the RPM to 5K. I did take it out last night for a bit now that I can get on the throttle a bit more and I found that the huge difference is the sound. I cannot hear the chain anymore and I still seem to have the same response when getting on the throttle as I do with any of my other bikes. It seems very smooth and the throttle to response is 100% there.

The seating position for this bike is a lot higher then any of the bikes I have been on in the past. I found that being up really high in the air is great. I am really able to get a great view of everything in front of me. When you are ready to go off road it seems like I can just stand right up and have total control of the bike. The stock seat leaves something to be desired but I guess that is to be expected. So I will be looking into getting a new seat for it someday.

The suspension is very nice on the freeway and allows for great handling. So I really can’t wait to get it on a fire road to see how it handles there. I felt as I was riding it around that all the bumps and dips were just absorbed into the suspension and I never felt like I would lose control. I was able to turn on a dime and feel like it was very easy to do. Just going down the road and making a sharp turn it just glided into the turn and I never felt like I was maybe going to have to slow down at all. I did a few high speed on/off ramps on the freeway and it handled them just like all the rest of my bikes. Smooth and fast.

This is the first bike I have had with heated grips. It comes with two settings like all heated grips. You have the first setting that is Burn your hands and the lower setting that is hot. I tried them out last night as I was riding around and it was in my opinion the best thing since sliced bread. They really warm up fast and keep your hands warm. They will be great in cold weather and on the high setting I am sure they will not have any issues keeping my hands warm even in winter gloves. This is a feature you must try and I don’t know how I will go back to a bike without them..

Well so far that wraps up how I feel about this bike so far. All in all the handling of the bike is perfect and all the added features of the bike really make it a great bike to own. I am so far really enjoying the shaft drive and the reduced noise from the rear of the bike and the control of power it has. I am not disappointed with the bike at all and feel this is just the beginning to a great future full of adventures on this motorcycle.

I have been talking about this for years I know. But with the planning of this ride it will be very important for me to be back in shape. We will be riding thousands of miles and it will be hard on the body. Most might not think it is but riding a motorcycle for long periods of time is very hard on you. We will be able to take some time and do it a bit slower than just riding as fast as we can across the U.S. but still looking at 5 to 8 hours a day riding.

With that said.. I will need to get back down to my ideal weight and start doing weekend rides a.s.a.p.

So now the next step in getting ready for this long ride will be to start looking at getting a new bike. I know what I want and how I want it setup for this trip. I have been doing a lot of reading and really am looking for something that can handle the road and also off road really well. So I have narrowed it down to one of two bikes I would like. But because I really like the Tirumph I am leaning toward it.

Well part of getting ready for the ride across the United States will be to get rid of some of the bikes. I have decided to sell the Ducati and might be selling a few others to get a bike that will work for this trek. I put the bike up for sale and it sold very fast. I got more then what I paid for it and am very excited about the next step in getting the new bike.

I have been trying to figure out the best way to have a site that I will be able to publish and post about the progress of the adventure. I have decided to use wordpress to do this. I hope it will be able to do everything I need.